Hello, Honeybee

by Caity H.

  “Not exactly,” he said coyly. “Just perceptive.”

  “It’s a wonder you don’t already have a girlfriend,” I mused.

  “I haven’t found the right girl yet.” He shrugged.

  “Or she hasn’t realized you like her yet,” I sighed. A flash of emotion passed over his face, almost like he was afraid. Realization hit me. “That’s totally it, isn’t it? She doesn’t know?” he frowned, looking away. I grinned. “Awh, that’s adorable! Want to talk about it?”

  He shook his head quickly. “No, I don’t.”

  “Come on, I'll tell you all about ... him, and you tell me all about her. It'll be fun. We can even go into my room so my mother doesn’t hear,” I prodded him, a smile on my face.

  “Are you going to bug me about it until I say yes?” his deadpanned.

  “Yes, probably,” I confirmed with a nod.

  He sighed, pressing pause on the movie. “Fantastic.” Laughing, I stood and pulled him to his feet. A blanket was wrapped around my shoulders. We walked upstairs to my room. I shut the door and the curtains. “Isn't this the kind of thing that makes parents worry?” he asked, smirking.

  “Oh shut up. Mom knows I wouldn't do that.” But sure enough, a few seconds later there was a knock on my door.

  “Honey, I'd prefer if you left the door opened.” Mom glanced at Ryan warily.

  “We’re just going to talk, and if it goes anything past that, you have full permission to send me to some boarding school where I'll waste away and become a nun or something.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “That’s what they all say. Keep the door open. I might spontaneously burst in the room. Just remember that,” she threatened before she left.

  I closed the door, leaving it open just a crack. I sat down on my bed, wrapping the covers around me. “Sit,” I instructed, pointing to the bed.

  “What if your mom walks in?” he asked, sitting down on the bed cross legged.

  “She won't. Now, tell me about your crush,” I giggled, pulling my blankets around myself.

  He tossed one of my stuffed animals at me. “Why don't you go first? Tell me about your major crush on, Lex. Tell me about when you two were younger. What led you to falling in love with him?” I glanced down at the blue penguin in my hands. He raised an eyebrow expectantly.

  I shrugged. “It just kind of happened. We spent all our time together, told each other everything, literally. Our favorite colors, movies, and our thoughts on political things at school. We even gossiped about who was dating who.” He laughed. “The crush just developed over time, and I was convinced he loved me as well. I obviously watched far too many sappy love stories then, also,” I muttered.

  “Have you ever told him how you feel?” he asked. I shook my head. “You know guys can't read minds, right?” he smiled.

  “And all this time I thought he knew how I felt!” I exclaimed.

  “Sorry, someone was supposed to tell you, I believe mothers usually deliver the delicate news,” he explained.

  I groaned and fell back into my pillows. “Why couldn't she have told me this earlier? It would've made life so much easier.”

  “Doubtful,” he argued.

  “Boys are just so gosh darn confusing!” I grumbled.

  “F.Y.I., girls are just as confusing.”

  “Doubtful,” I mimicked. “We girls are very good at showing our feelings.”

  He rolled his eyes at my comment. “As a guy who has dealt with girls in the past, I know your gender is nothing less than confusing.”

  “Oh, and how many experiences have you had dealing with confusing girls?” I asked, smirking.

  “Enough,” he replied, shooting me a wink.

  “Men. I never get a straight answer from your species.” I glared at the bedspread.

  “We're good at avoiding things like that,” he agreed, grinning.

  “Apparently,” I replied.

  “I have a question for you,” he murmured, leaning his elbows on his knees.

  “Shoot.”

  “How exactly did you get your nickname?” he wondered, a small smile glinting his lips. “I’ve been curious about it since I first heard it.”

  The memory of how I got my silly nickname presented itself in my mind, and my lips started moving. “Well, it happened about ten years ago,” I started. “I was sitting in my front lawn picking flowers.” It was like I was transported back in time, back to that moment. I could feel the soft grass beneath me, and smell the flowers scattered around me. “Lex just got back from riding his bike with his dad when he came over to my house.” The pink helmet, borrowed from his mother, trailed behind him. Bike rides with his father were a regular occurrence back then. “We were just talking about playing in the tree house when all of sudden I started screaming bloody murder,” I told him, shaking my head at the memory. Lex had dropped the helmet and stared at me in horror, like I had grown a second head. “Mom came bursting out of the door, a kitchen knife in her hand. Dad even came a little faster than normal.”

  The look of panic in Dad’s eyes when he came out to see what was wrong still haunted me sometimes. I would have nightmares where that look of panic filled his eyes right before the car slammed into him. I bit my lip to keep my emotions in check.

  “So as it turned out, I’d grabbed hold of a flower with a honeybee on it. Now, if you knew Lex better, you would know he is lazy. Even when he was younger. For some reason, he used to call me by my full name. When I got stung, and over reacted because I was a kid, he took the opportunity to change my name. He’s called me Honeybee ever since.” I’m always going to call you Honeybee. The promise of an eight year old lasted much longer than I expected.

  “It’s too bad he’s still not an eight-year-old. I think I would’ve liked him better when he was younger,” Ryan mused.

  I smirked. “Most would,” I agreed. “Now! I demand that you tell me about your crush.” I couldn’t help the glee that fled to my face.

  “There's really not much to tell.”

  “There's always something to tell,” I replied. “Now spill it before I smack you.”

  He laughed. “Gee, Olivia, you're threatening me now?”

  “Yeah. So spill.” I said. He groaned. “Just tell me a little about her, what’s she like?”

  “Fine,” he caved. “She's got a great personality. She's funny, smart, easily embarrassed, kind of sarcastic, and all around sweet.”

  “What was the first thing you noticed about her?” I asked, wanting to know all the details of his crush.

  “Well, she’s short,” he laughed.

  “After that?”

  “She's got pretty eyes,”

  “Next?”

  “She's not afraid to be herself, even if that means making people feel awkward.” He laughed.

  “So what stopped you from asking her out?” I asked.

  He sighed, leaning against his knees. “She just doesn’t seem interested, so I’m being careful. I don’t want to get her heart involved before we know what’s going to happen between us.” I knew I liked Ryan for good reason. “Is that enough–”

  I jumped when the door burst open, swinging back and slamming into the wall. “Mom!” I yelled.

  She had a funny look on her face and was standing in a ninja like pose in the doorway. “Just making sure nothing fishy was going on.” She said, grabbing the door and leaving.

  I clutched my chest, my heart still pounding. “Sorry about her. I never knew she acted like this when I had guys in the house. She never acted like this when Lex was around.”

  “It’s okay. I bet if I brought you over and took you upstairs; within five minutes my mom would have an excuse to come check in on us.”

  “What is it with mothers and bursting in like that?” I laughed, leaning into my pillows.

  “It makes them feel powerful I guess,” he laughed along. “So, did you ask all that you wanted to ask?” He questioned. I wanted to ask him what her name was, but since he wasn’t forthcoming, I w
ouldn’t force it from him. I nodded and we went back downstairs.

  We finished watching the movie around ten, I felt bad keeping Ryan so long, but it was nice to have someone there. Mom had gone up to her room around nine. She made sure to give both of us threatening glares, warning us not to do anything while unsupervised.

  I flipped the TV off, and turned to Ryan.

  He stretched his arms forwards a moment before dropping them and sighing. He glanced over at me. “I think it's about time I got going,” he said.

  “Probably. Do you have to work tomorrow?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I'm opening tomorrow,” he replied.

  I gasped, my cheeks heating up in embarrassment. “Ryan, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have kept you so long,”

  “Don’t worry about it, Livie. You needed someone and I was perfectly happy to be that someone for you,” he said.

  “Thank you, Ryan. I don’t deserve to have such good friends, all I do is complain to them about Lex,” I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “If it gets to be too much, I’ll just go beat him up so he won’t be able to mess with you for a while.” He stood up, pulling me to my feet. I walked outside to his car with him.

  “Thanks for walking me to my car.” A cute grin lingered on his face.

  “You're welcome.” I smiled. “I hope you get some sleep, sorry for keeping you out so long.”

  “It was fun,” he promised. Silence dragged on between us. I bit my lip, trying to think of what to say. “So, um,” he started, almost like he felt uncomfortable. “What would you say if I asked you out for coffee sometime?”

  “What do you mean?” butterflies erupted in my stomach.

  “Just to get to know each other better, as friends,” he offered.

  I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face. “Are you asking me on a date?”

  “A mostly platonic one.” He nodded. “Just to get our minds off these other people. Who knows, maybe something great will happen from it,” he thought.

  “Okay,”

  “Okay what?” he pressed, playing with his lip ring.

  My eyes lingered on the ring a moment before I remembered to answer. I’d never really thought of lip rings as attractive, but they definitely were. “We can go on a mostly platonic coffee date,” I told him.

  “Really?” he smiled.

  “Yes, really,” I giggled, feeling bubbly.

  “How about this Friday?” he leaned against his car, flipping his keys around his fingers.

  A breeze drifted by, rustling the leaves on the tree. I shivered, rubbing my arms. “Five?”

  He nodded quickly, smiling back at me. “It’s a date.”

  “Sounds perfect,” I spoke softly, biting my lip. “It’s time you got home though.” I stepped into his arms, delighting in the warmth he offered.

  “Your mom is watching us from her room,” he murmured into my ear softly.

  I burst out laughing, hugging him tighter before letting go. “Mothers.”

  “Really,” he laughed. He got into his car, putting the keys in the ignition. “See you Friday, Olivia.”

  “Until then,” I murmured wistfully.

  He waved goodbye and backed out of my driveway, driving off towards his house. I stood out there a few more minutes, watching his car lights disappear into the darkness. I grinned to myself before going back inside. I was going to have my first date.

  Chapter Thirteen – Fighting for First

  My tray slapped down loudly on to the gray plastic table top, and I slumped into the chair.

  Bethany looked up, raising an eyebrow at my rough entrance. “You alright?”

  I smiled. “Yeah, sorry. How was your date?” We hadn’t had the time to talk about it yet, and I was incredibly curious. I almost hoped it went well and they were in love, just because it would give her something to gush about and blush over.

  The drop in her features told me it hadn’t gone well. “Jeremiah and I are so not compatible.” She ran her hands through her ebony hair. “All he talked about was football, and how awesome he is. He couldn’t say enough about it.” She laughed. “It was literally an hour and a half of him promoting himself to me, like I would fall for his charm.”

  “Or lack thereof,” I added. She snorted, covering her mouth with her hands. I grinned before glancing at the body headed our way. The smile fell from my face. “Careful, Prince Charming is headed this way.”

  She frowned and turned around as Jeremiah sauntered over. He lifted the sunglasses from his eyes, grinning at Bethany. “Hey.” He slid into the spot next to her, close enough that their arms brushed.

  She grimaced, moving away from him. “Hi.”

  “That was fun last night, right?” he winked, nudging her arm.

  She shot an exasperated look my way. “Listen, Jeremiah,” she started, frowning as he closed the distance between them.

  “Yes, Buttercup?” he cooed, leaning his face closer to hers.

  “I thought I made it pretty clear last night that a second date isn’t going to happen,” Bethany stated, pushing against his chest to stop him coming any closer.

  His hands closed over hers, and he sighed. “You did, but I’m pretty sure it’s because you don’t feel you’re good enough for me because of my god like status at school.” I bit down on my lip, holding back laughter. Was he serious?

  “I’m pretty sure that’s not why I said no,” she muttered, a dark look in her eyes.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart.” He flashed a crooked grin. “You don’t have to feel inadequate. I don’t care what other people think. I like you. I won’t accept the answer no to a second date. You and I have something magical.” He draped an arm around her shoulder, hugging her against him.

  “If by magical you mean imaginary, than yes, we do have something magical.” She shook his arm away. “I’m not going out with you again, Jeremiah.”

  He sighed, setting an elbow on the table and resting his chin in his hand. “You’re a strange girl, Bethany. You don’t fall all over me like some girls.” He watched her a moment, his eyes moving over her. She glared at the blatant way he took in her body. “I think that’s partly why I like you. You’re a challenge,” he spoke, the smile returning to his lips as his eyes moved to meet hers. He leaned in swiftly and kissed her cheek before getting up and moving away.

  Bethany’s cheeks burned bright red and her eyes were alive with anger. “That egotistical jock!” she hissed. “I can’t stand guys like that, and yet! He’s the only one to come after me. Some luck I have.” She glared at her food. “You’re so lucky to be getting to know a guy like Ryan. He is so much better for you than Lex, or other guys like him and Jeremiah.”

  A smile danced across my lips as I thought of Friday and my date with Ryan. “I’m pretty excited about that, too.”

  “You should be,” she laughed, giving a small shake of her head. “You should ask him if he has any hot relatives that are around his age and have similar personalities.” She picked up her empty tray, discarding the garbage and placing the tray on top of the bin.

  “I definitely will,” I assured her, following her lead. “I’ll see if I can set something up this weekend.”

  She snapped her fingers, spinning on her heel to me. “I have an idea actually.”

  “Do tell,” I encouraged, heading out of the cafeteria.

  “I was thinking. Since the senior class usually has a crazy party the week before graduation, that we should throw our own thing. We can invite Ryan and his friends, they seemed nice.” I nodded my agreement. “It could be fun and less dangerous than any party one of the seniors could throw.”

  “My mom would be up for that,” I murmured, remembering how many times she’d denied my pleading to go to one of the high school parties. Sometimes they were personal invites, but most of the time it was a general invite to the whole school. She’d never let me go because of all the horror stories she’d heard.

  “And I’m sure I could convince my mom
to have it at our house,” Bethany mused.

  I glanced at my watch, noting I had little time to get to class. “We can talk about it at my house tonight,” I said, a subtle reminder of the movie night we’d planned.

  “Alright sounds good.” She nodded.

  With a parting wave, we headed off toward our classes. Down the hallway, I caught sight of Lex, leaning against a locker. Cassy was curled against him, a delicate smile on her lips as he pulled her body closer to his own.

  My stomach twisted and I averted my eyes from the P.D.A. they were showing. I tried to keep my thoughts away from the other night, when it was me he’d wanted by his side. We hadn’t talked since that day, and by the looks of it, he’d easily moved on after I told him to leave. Did it even hurt him to be denied? I wondered if he’d ever had a bruised ego, or broken heart. Turning away, I prepared myself for another boring lecture.

  After class, I walked aimlessly down the hallways. Bethany had to run errands, so I was on my own for getting home. I was out of class and heading home early. Pushing open the door that led outside, I was nearly blinded by the sun and was unable to avoid running into the person right outside. “Sorry!”

  The guy I'd run into was someone I didn't recognize. But then again, I didn't actually know that many people in my school. He flashed a grin. “No worries, I'm stronger than I look,” he replied, the lingering Italian accent influencing his voice.

  “Still, I’m really sorry, I should’ve been more careful,” I rambled, feeling heat rise to my cheeks.

  He blinked gray eyes at me, amused. He ran a hand through his dark brown hair. “Seriously, it's fine. I'm not hurt, you're not hurt. Things could be worse.” He reasoned.

  “Still-”

  He cut me off with the wave of his hand. “Stop apologizing, really.” I frowned. He stuck a hand out. “I'm Desmond, you are?” I was about to answer when someone else spoke up.

  “Honeybee,” he called. I turned to see Lex coming towards me. I had to give it to him, the boy had good timing. He somehow always managed to come talk to me the moment another guy started to make conversation.

  “That’s a unique name,” Desmond commented, eyebrow raised in curiosity.